7 JULY 2004. - An Act to assent to the Convention between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Albania to avoid double taxation in respect of taxes on income and property and to prevent tax evasion, signed in Brussels on 14 November 2002 (1)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. The Convention between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Albania to avoid double taxation on income and property taxes and to prevent tax evasion, signed in Brussels on 14 November 2002, will come out its full and complete effect.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 7 July 2004.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
L. MICHEL
Minister of Finance,
D. REYNDERS.
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. L. ONKELINX
____
Note
(1) Session 2003-2004.
Senate:
Documents. - Bill tabled on 24 December 2003, No. 3-421/1. - Text adopted by the Commission, No. 3-421/2.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion, meeting of March 11, 2004. - Vote, meeting of 11 March 2004.
House of Representatives:
Documents. - Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 51-991/1. - Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent, No. 51-991/2.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion, meeting of May 6, 2004. - Vote, meeting of 6 May 2004.
(2) This Convention comes into force on 1^er September 2004.

Convention between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Albania for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and on capital and for the prevention of fiscal evasion
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM
AND
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA,
Desiring, for the purpose of further developing and facilitating their economic relationship, to conclude a Convention for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and on capital and for the prevention of fiscal evasion,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
Personal scope
This Convention shall apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the Contracting States.
Article 2
Taxes covered
1. This Convention shall apply to taxes on income and on capital imposed on behalf of a Contracting State or of its political subdivisions or local authorities, irrespective of the manner in which they are levied.
2. There shall be regarded as taxes on income and on capital all taxes imposed on total income, on total capital, or on elements of income or of capital, including taxes on gains from the alienation of movable or immovable property, taxes on the total amounts of wages or salaries paid by enterprises, as well as taxes on capital appreciation.
3. The existing taxes to which the Convention shall apply are in particular :
(a) In Albania:
(i) the tax on the profits of juridical persons;
(ii) the tax on small business activities;
(iii) the individual income tax;
(iv) the tax on property; (hereinafter referred to as "Albanian tax");
(b) In Belgium:
(i) the individual income tax;
(ii) the corporate income tax;
(iii) the income tax on legal entities (non profit making entities);
(iv) the income tax on non-residents;
(v) the supplementary crisis contribution,
including the prepayments, the surcharges on these taxes and prepayments, and the supplements to the individual income tax;
(hereinafter referred to as "Belgian tax").
4. The Convention shall apply also to any identical or substantially similar taxes which are imposed after the date of signature of the Convention in addition to, or in place of, the existing taxes. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall notify each other of any significant changes which have been made in their respective taxation laws.
Article 3
General definitions
1. For the purposes of this Convention, unless the context otherwise requires:
a) the term "Albania" means the Republic of Albania, and when used in a geographical sense means the territory of the Republic of Albania including territorial waters and air space over them as well as any area beyond the territorial seas of the Republic of Albania which, under its laws and in accordance with international law, is an area within which the Republic of Albania may exercise its rights with respect to the seabed and subsoil and their natural resources;
b) the term "Belgium" means the Kingdom of Belgium, and used in a geographical sense, it means the territory of the Kingdom of Belgium, including the territorial sea and any other area in the sea and in the air within which the Kingdom of Belgium, in accordance with international law, exercises sovereign rights or its jurisdiction;
c) the terms "a Contracting State" and "the other Contracting State" mean Albania or Belgium as the context requires;
d) the term "person" includes an individual, a company and any other body of persons;
e) the term "company" means any legal entity which is treated as a juridical person for tax purposes in the Contracting State of which it is a resident;
(f) the terms "enterprise of a Contracting State" and "enterprise of the other Contracting State" mean respectively an enterprise carried on by a resident of a Contracting State and an enterprise carried on by a resident of the other Contracting State;
(g) the term "national" means:
(i) any individual possessing the nationality of a Contracting State;
(ii) any juridical person, partnership or association deriving its status as such from the laws in force in a Contracting State;
(h) the term "international traffic" means any transport by a ship, an aircraft or a road or railway vehicle operated by an enterprise of a Contracting State, except when such means of transportation are operated solely between places in the other Contracting State;
i) the term "competent authority" means:
(i) in the case of Albania, the Minister of Finance or his representative authorized;
ii) in the case of Belgium, the Minister of Finance or his authorised representative.
2. As regards the application of this Convention at any time by a Contracting State, any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning which it has at that time under the law of that State concerning the taxes to which the Convention applies any meaning under the applicable tax laws of that State prevailing over a meaning given to the term under other laws of that State.
Article 4
Resident
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "resident of a Contracting State" means any person who, under the laws of that State, is liable to tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence, place of management, place of registration or any other criterion of a similar nature, and also includes that State and any political subdivision or local authority thereof. But this term does not include any person who is liable to tax in that State in respect only of income from sources in that State or capital situated therein.
2. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then his status shall be determined as follows:
a) he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State in which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home available to him in both States, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests);
b) if the State in which he has his centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he has not a permanent home available to him in either State, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State in which he has an habitual abode;
(c) if he has an habitual abode in both States or in neither of them, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State of which he is a national;
d) if he is a national of both States or of neither of them, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall settle the question by mutual agreement.
3. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 a person other than an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then it shall be deemed to be a resident of the State in which its place of effective management is situated.
Article 5
Permanent establishment
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "permanent establishment" means a fixed place of business through which the business of an enterprise is wholly or partly carried on.
2. The term "permanent establishment" includes especially :
(a) a place of management;
(b) a branch;
(c) an office;
(d) a factory;
(e) a workshop, and
(f) a mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other place of extraction of natural resources.
3. The term "permanent establishment" likewise encompasses:
a) a building site, a construction, assembly or installation project or supervisory activities in connection therewith, but only where such site, project or activities continue within the country for a period of more than nine months within any 12-month period, commencing or ending in the calendar year concerned, and
b) the furnishing of services, including consultancy services, by enterprise through employees or other personnel engaged by the enterprise for such purpose, but only where activities of that nature continue for the same or a connected project within the country for a period or periods aggregating more than nine months within any 12- month period commencing or ending in the calendar year concerned.
4. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article the term "permanent establishment" shall be deemed not to include:
a) the use of facilities solely for the purpose of storage or display of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise;
(b) the maintenance of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise solely for the purpose of storage or display;
(c) the maintenance of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise solely for the purpose of processing by another enterprise;
(d) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the purpose of purchasing goods or merchandise or of collecting information, for the enterprise;
e) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the purpose of carrying on, for the enterprise, any other activity of a preparatory or auxiliary character;
f) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for any combination of activities mentioned in subparagraphs a) to e), provided that the overall activity of the fixed place of business resulting from this combination is of a preparatory or auxiliary character.
5. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, where a person -other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph 6 applies- is acting in a Contracting State on behalf of an enterprise of the other Contracting State, that enterprise shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the first-mentioned State in respect of any activities which that person undertakes for the enterprise, if such a person has and habitually exercises in the first mentioned State an authority to conclude contracts in the name of the enterprise, unless the activities of such person are limited to those mentioned in paragraph 4 which, if exercised through a fixed place of business, would not make this fixed place of business a permanent establishment under the provisions of that paragraph.
6. An enterprise shall not be deemed to have a permanent establishment in a Contracting State merely because it carries on business in that State through a broker, general commission agent or any other agent of an independent status, provided that such persons are acting in the ordinary course of their business. However, when the activities of such an agent are devoted wholly or almost wholly on behalf of that enterprise, he shall not be considered to be an agent of an independent status within the meaning of this paragraph.
7. The fact that a company which is a resident of a Contracting State controls or is controlled by a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State, or which carries on business in that other State (whether through a permanent establishment or otherwise), shall not of itself constitute either company a permanent establishment of the other.
Article 6
Income from immovable property
1. Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from immovable property (including income from agriculture or forestry) situated in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
2. The term "immovable property" shall have the meaning which it has under the law of the Contracting State in which the property in question is situated. The term shall in any case include property accessory to immovable property, livestock and equipment used in agriculture and forestry, rights to which the provisions of general law respecting landed property apply, usufruct of immovable property and rights to variable or fixed payments as consideration for the working of, or the consideration right to work, mineral deposits, sources and other natural resources. Ships and aircraft shall not be regarded as immovable property.
3. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply to income derived from the direct use, letting, or use in any other form of immovable property.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 3 shall also apply to the income from immovable property of an enterprise and to income from immovable property used for the performance of independent personal services.
Article 7
Business profits
1. The profits of an enterprise of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State unless the enterprise carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein. If the enterprise carries on business as aforesaid, the profits of the may be taxed in the other State but only so much of them as is attributable to that permanent establishment.
2. If an enterprise of a Contracting State :
a) uses facilities in the other Contracting State solely for the purpose of delivery in that other Contracting State of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise, or
b) maintains in the other Contracting State a stock of goods or merchandise, belonging to that enterprise, solely for the purpose of delivery in that other Contracting State,
then, only the amount of the profits effectively attributable to such delivery may be taxed in the other Contracting State.
3. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3, where an enterprise of a Contracting State carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein, there shall in each Contracting State be attributed to that permanent establishment the profits which it might be expected to make if it were a distinct and separate enterprise engaged in the same or similar activities under the same or similar conditions and dealing wholly independently.
4. In the determination of the profits of a permanent establishment, there shall be allowed as deductions expenses which are incurred for the purposes of the business of the permanent establishment, including executive and general administrative expenses so incurred, whether in the State in which the permanent establishment is situated or elsewhere.
5. Insofar as it has been customary in a Contracting State to determine the profits to be attributed to a permanent establishment on the basis of an contributionionment of the total profits of the enterprise to its various parts, nothing in paragraph 2 shall preclude that Contracting State from determining the profits to be taxed by such an contributionionment as may be customary; the method of contributionionment adopted shall, however, be such that the result shall be in accordance with the principles contained in this Article.
6. No profits shall be attributed to a permanent establishment by reason of the mere purchase by that permanent establishment of goods or merchandise for the enterprise.
7. For the purposes of the preceding paragraphs, the profits to be attributed to the permanent establishment shall be determined by the same method year by year, unless there is good and sufficient reason to the contrary.
8. Where profits include items of income which are dealt with separately in other Articles of this Convention, then the provisions of those Articles shall not be affected by the provisions of this Article.
Article 8
International transport
1. Profits from the operation of ships, aircraft or road or railway vehicles in international traffic shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in which the place of effective management of the enterprise is situated.
2. If the place of effective management of a shipping enterprise is aboard a ship, then it shall be deemed to be situated in the Contracting State in which the home harbour of the ship is situated, or if there is no such home harbour, in the Contracting State of which the operator of the ship is a resident.
3. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall also apply to profits from the participation in a pool, a joint business or an international operating agency.
Article 9
Associated enterprises
1. Where:
a) an enterprise of a Contracting State participates directly or indirectly in the management, control or capital of an enterprise of the other Contracting State, or
b) the same persons participate directly or indirectly in the management, control or capital of an enterprise of a Contracting State and an enterprise of the other Contracting State,
and in either case conditions are made or imposed between the two enterprises in their commercial or financial relations which differ from those which would be made between independent enterprises, then any profits which would, but for those conditions, have increasedd to one of the enterprises, but, by reason of those conditions, have not so increasedd, may be included in the profits of that enterprise and taxed accordingly.
2. Where a Contracting State includes in the profits of an enterprise of that State -and taxes accordingly- profits on which an enterprise of the other Contracting State has been charged to tax in that other State and the profits so included are profits which would have increasedd to the enterprise of the first-mentioned State if the conditions made between the two enterprises had been those which would have been made between independent enterprises, then that other State shall make an appropriate adjustment to the amount of the tax charged therein on those profits. In determining such adjustment, due regard shall be had to the other provisions of this Convention and the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall if necessary consult each other.
Article 10
Dividends
1. Dividends paid by a company which is a resident of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
2. However, such dividends may also be taxed in the Contracting State of which the company paying the dividends is a resident and according to the laws of that State, but if the beneficial owner of the dividends is a resident of the other Contracting State the tax so charged shall not exceed :
a) 5 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends if the beneficial owner is a company which holds directly at least 25 per cent of the capital of the company paying the dividends;
(b) 15 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends in all other cases.
The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall by mutual agreement settle the mode of application of these limitations.
This paragraph shall not affect the taxation of the company in respect of the profits out of which the dividends are paid.
3. The term "dividends" as used in this Article means income from shares of any kind, or other rights not being debt-claims, participating in profits, as well as other income which is treated as income from shares by the tax legislation of the State of which the paying company is a resident.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the dividends, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State of which the company paying the dividends is a resident, through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the holding in respect of which the dividends are paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
5. Where a company which is a resident of a Contracting State derives profits or income from the other Contracting State, that other State may not impose any tax on the dividends paid by the company, except insofar as such dividends are paid to a resident of that other company or insofar as the holding in respect of which the dividends are paid is effectively connected with a permanent establishment or a fixed base situated in that other State, nor subject the dividend's undistributed
Article 11
Interest
1. Interest arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
2. However, such interest may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which it arises and according to the laws of that State, but if the beneficial owner of the interest is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed 5 percent of the gross amount of the interest. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall by mutual agreement settle the mode of application of this limitation.
3. The term "interest" as used in this Article means income from debt-claims of every kind, whether or not secured by mortgage and whether or not carrying a right to participate in the debtor's profits, and in particular, income from government securities and income from bonds or debentures, including premiums and prizes attaching to such securities, bonds or debentures. Penalty charges for late payment shall not be regarded as interest for the purpose of this Article.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the interest, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State in which the interest arises, through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the debt-claim in respect of which the interest is paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
5. Interest shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the pay is a resident of that State. Where, however, the person paying the interest, whether he is a resident of a Contracting State or not, has in a Contracting State a permanent establishment or a fixed base in connection with which the indebtedness on which the interest is paid was incurred and such interest is borne by such permanent establishment or fixed base, then such interest shall be deemed to arise in the State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated.
6. Where by reason of a special relationship between the pay and the beneficial owner or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the interest, having regard to the debt-claim for which it is paid, exceeds the amount which would have been agreed upon by the pay and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relationship, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the last-mentioned amount. In such case, the excess part of the payments shall remain taxable according to the laws of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Convention.
Article 12
Royalties
1. Royalties arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
2. However, such royalties may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which they arise and according to the laws of that State, but if the beneficial owner of the royalties is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed 5 percent of the gross amount of the royalties. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall by mutual agreement settle the mode of application of this limitation.
3. The term "royalties" as used in this Article means payments of any kind received as a consideration for the use of, or the right to use, any copyright of literary, artistic or scientific work including cinematograph films and films or tapes for radio or television broadcasting, any patent, trade mark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process, or for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific experience. Payments constituting consideration for technical assistance or technical services shall not be considered to be payments for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific experience, but shall be taxable in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 on Article 14, as the case may be.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the royalties, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State in which the royalties arise, through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other State independent services from a fixed base situated therein, and the right or property in respect of which the royalties are paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
5. Royalties shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the pay is a resident of that State. Where, however, the person paying the royalties, whether he is a resident of a Contracting State or not, has in a Contracting State a permanent establishment or a fixed base in connection with which the liability to pay the royalties was incurred, and such royalties are borne by such permanent establishment or fixed base, then such royalties shall be deemed to arise in the State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated.
6. Where by reason of a special relationship between the pay and the beneficial owner or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the royalties, having regard to the use, right or information for which they are paid, exceeds the amount which would have been agreed upon by the pay and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relationship, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the last-mentioned amount. In such case, the excess part of the payments shall remain taxable according to the laws of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Convention.
Article 13
Capital gains
1. Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of immovable property referred to in Article 6 and situated in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
2. Gains from the alienation of movable property forming part of the business property of a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State or of movable property pertaining to a fixed base available to a resident of a Contracting State in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing independent personal services, including such gains from the alienation of such a permanent establishment that (alone or with the whole enterprise) or of such fixed base, may be taxed in
3. Gains from the alienation of ships, aircraft or road or railway vehicles operated in international traffic, or movable property pertaining to the operation of such means of transportation shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in which the profits of the enterprise are taxable according to Article 8 of this Convention.
4. Gains from the alienation of shares of a company the property of which consists directly or indirectly principally of immovable property situated in a Contracting State may be taxed in that State, but only so much of the gains which relate to immovable property situated in that State.
5. Gains from the alienation of any property other than that referred to in preceding paragraphs of this Article, shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the alienator is a resident.
Article 14
Independent personal services
1. Income derived by an individual who is a resident of a Contracting State in respect of professional or other similar services of an independent character shall be taxable only in that State except in the following circumstances, when such income may also be taxed in the other Contracting State:
a) if he has a fixed base regularly available to him in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing his activities; in that case, only so much of the income as is attributable to that fixed base may be taxed in that other State; gold
(b) if his stay in the other Contracting State is for a period or periods amounting to or exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any 12-month period commencing or ending in the calendar year concerned; in that case, only so much of the income as is derived from his activities performed in that other State may be taxed in that other State.
2. The term "professional services" includes especially independent scientific, literary, artistic, educational or teaching activities as well as the independent activities of physicians, dentists, lawyers, engineers, architects and accountants.
Article 15
Dependent personal services
1. Subject to the provisions of Articles 16, 18 and 19, salaries, wages and other similar remuneration derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of an employment shall be taxable only in that State unless the employment is exercised in the other Contracting State. If the employment is so exercised, such remuneration as is derived therefrom may be taxed in that other State.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, remuneration derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of an employment exercised in the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in the first-mentioned State if all the following conditions are met:
a) the recipient is present in the other State for a period or periods not exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any 12- month period commencing or ending in the calendar year concerned;
(b) the remuneration is paid by, or on behalf of, an employer who is not a resident of the other State; and
c) the remuneration is not borne by a permanent establishment or a fixed base which the employer has in the other State.
3. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, remuneration derived in respect of an employment exercised aboard a ship, an aircraft or a road or railway vehicle operated in international traffic may be taxed in the Contracting State in which the profits of the enterprise are taxable according to Article 8 of this Convention.
Article 16
Directors' fees
1. Directors' fees and other similar payments derived by a resident of a Contracting State in his capacity as a member of the board of directors or of a similar organ of a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
The preceding provision shall also apply to payments derived in respect of performing functions which, under the laws of the Contracting State of which the company is a resident, are regarded as functions of a similar nature as those exercised by a person referred to in the said provision.
2. Remuneration derived by an individual who is a resident of a Contracting State:
a) referred to in paragraph 1, from a company which is a resident of a Contracting State in respect of the performance of day-to-day functions of a managerial or technical nature, or
b) who is a partner in a partnership which is a resident of a Contracting State in respect of the performance of day-to-day functions for such partnership,
shall be taxable in accordance with the provisions of Article 15.
Article 17
Artists and sportsmen
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 14 and 15, income derived by a resident of a Contracting State as an entertainer, such as a theatre, motion picture, radio or television artist, or a musician, or as a sportsman, from his personal activities as such exercised in the other Contracting State, may be taxed in that other State.
2. Where income in respect of personal activities exercised by an entertainer or a sportsman in his capacity as such increaseds not to the entertainer or sportsman himself but to another person, that income may, notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 7, 14 and 15, be taxed in the Contracting State in which the activities of the entertainer or sportsman are exercised.
Article 18
Pensions
Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 19, pensions and other similar remuneration paid to a resident of a Contracting State in consideration of past employment shall be taxable only in that State.
Article 19
Government services
1. a) Salaries, wages and other similar remuneration, other than a pension, paid by a Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that State or subdivision or authority shall be taxable only in that State.
b) However, such salaries, wages and other similar remuneration shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the services are rendered in that State and the individual is a resident of that State who:
(i) is a national of that State; gold
ii) did not become a resident of that State solely for the purpose of rendering the services.
2. (a) Any pension paid by, or out of funds created by, a Contracting State, a political subdivision or a local authority thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that State, political subdivision or local authority shall be taxable only in that State.
b) However, such pension shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the individual is a resident of, and a national of, that other State.
3. The provisions of Articles 15, 16, 17 and 18 shall apply to remuneration and pensions in respect of services rendered in connection with a business carried on by a Contracting State, a political subdivision or a local authority thereof.
Rule 20
Students and apprentices
Where a student or business apprentice, who is or was immediately before visiting a Contracting State a resident of the other Contracting State, is present in the first-mentioned State solely for the purpose of his education or training, any payments received by such student for the purpose of his maintenance, education or training shall not be taxed in that State, provided that such payments arise from sources outside that State.
Article 21
Other income
1. Items of income of a resident of a Contracting State, wherever arising, not dealt with in the foregoing Articles of this Convention shall be taxable only in that State.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not apply to income, other than income from immovable property as defined in paragraph 2 of Article 6, if the recipient of such income, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the right or property in respect of which the income is paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base In such case the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, items of income of a resident of a Contracting State not dealt with in the foregoing Articles of this Convention and arising in the other Contracting State may also be taxed in that other State, if these items are not taxed in the first-mentioned State.
Article 22
Capital
1. Capital represented by immovable property referred to in Article 6, owned by a resident of a Contracting State and situated in the other Contracting State, may be taxed in that other State.
2. Capital represented by movable property forming part of the business property of a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State or by movable property pertaining to a fixed base available to a resident of a Contracting State in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing independent personal services, may be taxed in that other State.
3. Capital represented by ships, aircraft and road or railway vehicles operated in international traffic, and by movable property pertaining to the operation of such means of transportation shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in which the place of effective management of the enterprise is situated.
4. All other elements of capital of a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State.
Article 23
Elimination of double taxation
Double taxation shall be eliminated as follows:
1. In Albania:
(a) Where a resident of Albania derives income or owns capital which, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention may be taxed in Belgium, Albania shall allow:
(i) as a deduction from the Albanian tax on the income of that resident an amount equal to the income tax paid in Belgium; and
(ii) as a deduction from the Albanian tax on the capital of that resident, an amount equal to the capital tax paid in Belgium.
Such deduction in either case shall not, however, exceed that part of the Albanian tax on income or on capital as computed before the deduction is given, which is attributable, as the case may be, to the income or the capital which may be taxed in Belgium.
(b) Where in accordance with any provision of the Convention income derived or capital owned by a resident of Albania is exempt from tax in Albania, Albania may nevertheless, in calculating the amount of tax on the remaining income or capital of such resident, take into account the exempted income or capital.
2. In Belgium:
(a) Where a resident of Belgium derives income or owns elements of capital which are taxed in Albania in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, other than those of paragraph 2 of article 10, of paragraphs 2 and 6 of Article 11 and of paragraphs 2 and 6 of Article 12, Belgium shall exempt such income or such elements of capital from tax but may, in calculating the amount of tax on the remaining income or capital of that resident, apply the rate of tax which would have been applicable if
(b) Subject to the provisions of Belgian law regarding the deduction from Belgian tax of taxes paid abroad, where a resident of Belgium derives items of his aggregate income for Belgian tax purposes which are dividends not exempt from Belgian tax according to subparagraph c) hereinafter, interest or royalties, the Albanian tax levied on that income shall be allowed as a credit against Belgian tax relating to such income.
(c) Dividends derived by a company which is a resident of Belgium from a company which is a resident of Albania shall be exempt from the corporate income tax in Belgium under the conditions and within the limits provided for in Belgian law.
3. For the purposes of paragraph 2 of this Article, income tax paid in Albania by a resident of Belgium in respect of business profits (Article 7) shall be deemed to include any amount which would have been paid as Albanian tax, but for the exemption, deduction or reduction of tax under the Law No.7677, dated 3 March 1993 "On introduced Profit Tax", so far as it has not been modified substantially since the date of the signature of this Convention, or has been modified only The provisions of this paragraph shall only apply where such business profits increased from an active trade or business of manufacturing, selling goods or merchandise or rendering services within Albania, and do not increase from financial services, unless the competent authorities agree that the overall activities giving rise to the income are for the benefit of economic development within Albania. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply only for the first five years during which this Convention is effective. This period may be extended by mutual agreement between the competent authorities.
Article 24
Non-discrimination
1. Nationals of a Contracting State shall not be subjected in the other Contracting State to any taxation or any requirement connected therewith, which is more burdensome than the taxation and connected requirements to which nationals of that other State in the same circumstances, in particular with respect to residence, are or may be subjected. This provision shall, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1, also apply to persons who are not residents of one or both of the Contracting States.
2. The taxation on a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State shall not be less favourably levied in that other State than the taxation levied on enterprises of that other State carrying on the same activities. This provision shall not be construed as obliging a Contracting State to grant to residents of the other Contracting State any personal allowances, reliefs and reductions for taxation purposes on account of civil status or family responsibilities which it grants to its own residents.
3. Except where the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 9, paragraph 6 of Article 11, or paragraph 6 of Article 12, apply, interest, royalties and other disbursements paid by an enterprise of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall, for the purpose of determining the taxable profits of such enterprise, be deductible under the same conditions as if they had been paid to a resident of the first-mentioned State. Similarly, any debts of an enterprise of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall, for the purpose of determining the taxable capital of such enterprise, be deductible under the same conditions as if they had been contracted to a resident of the first-mentioned State.
4. Enterprises of a Contracting State, the capital of which is wholly or partly owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by one or more residents of the other Contracting State, shall not be subjected in the first-mentioned State to any taxation or any requirement connected therewith which is more burdensome than the taxation and connected requirements to which other similar enterprises of the first-mentioned State are or may be subjected.
5. The provisions of this Article shall, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 2, apply to taxes of every kind and description. However, this paragraph does not apply to taxes levied in respect of services supplied.
Rule 25
Mutual agreement procedure
1. Where a person considers that the actions of one or both of the Contracting States result or will result for him in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, he may, irrespective of the remedies provided by the domestic law of those States, present his case to the competent authority of the Contracting State of which he is a resident or, if his case comes under paragraph 1 of Article 24, to that of the Contracting State of which he is a national. The case must be presented within three years from the first notification of the action resulting in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of the Convention.
2. The competent authority shall endeavour, if the objection appears to it to be justified and if it is not itself able to arrive at a satisfactory solution, to resolve the case by mutual agreement with the competent authority of the other Contracting State, with a view to the avoidance of taxation which is not in accordance with the Convention. Any agreement reached shall be implemented notwithstanding any time limits in the domestic law of the Contracting States.
3. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavour to resolve by mutual agreement any difficulties or doubts arising as to the interpretation or application of the Convention.
4. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall agree on administrative measures necessary to carry out the provisions of the Convention and particularly on the proofs to be furnished by residents of either Contracting State in order to benefit in the other State from the exemptions or reductions in tax provided for in the Convention.
5. The competent authorities of the Contracting States may communicate with each other directly for the purpose of reaching an agreement in the sense of the preceding paragraphs.
Rule 26
Exchange of information
1. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such information as is necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Convention or of the domestic laws of the Contracting States concerning taxes covered by the Convention, insofar as the taxation thereunder is not contrary to the Convention. The exchange of information is not restricted by Article 1. Any information received by a Contracting State shall be treated as secret in the same manner as information obtained under the domestic laws of that State and shall be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts and administrative bodies) involved in the assessment or collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, or the determination of appeals in relation to, the taxes covered by the Convention. Such persons or authorities shall use the information only for such purposes. They may disclose the information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions.
2. In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 1 be construed so as to impose on a Contracting State the obligation:
a) to carry out administrative measures at variance with the laws and administrative practice of that or of the other Contracting State;
b) to supply information which is not obtainable under the laws or in the normal course of the administration of that or of the other Contracting State;
c) to supply information which would disclose any trade, business, industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process, or information, the disclosure of which would be contrary to public policy (ordre public).
3. For the purposes of this Article, the Convention shall apply, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 2 (Taxes Covered), to taxes of every kind imposed by a Contracting State.
Rule 27
Assistance in collection
1. The Contracting States shall lend aid and assistance to each other in order to notify and collect taxes together with surcharges, additions, interest, costs and fines related to such taxes.
2. At the request of the competent authority of a Contracting State, the competent authority of the other Contracting State shall, in accordance with the legal provisions and regulations applicable to the notification and collection of the said taxes of the latter State, secure the notification and collection of taxes referred to in paragraph 1 which are due in the first mentioned State. Such claims shall not have any priority or privilege in the requested State.
3. Requests referred to in paragraph 2 shall be supported by an official copy of the instrument permitting the execution, accompanied where appropriate, by an official copy of any final administrative or judicial decision.
4. With regard to claims which are open to appeal, the competent authority of a Contracting State may, in order to safeguard its rights, request the competent authority of the other Contracting State to take protective measures provided for in the laws of that other State. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 3 shall apply with the necessary changes to such measures.
5. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 2, the provisions of this Article shall apply to all taxes imposed by or on behalf of a Contracting State.
6. The provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 26 shall also apply to any information which, by virtue of this Article, is supplied to the competent authority of a Contracting State.
7. Nothing in this Article shall be construed as imposing on either Contracting State the obligation to carry out administrative measures or to apply means of enforcement of a different nature from those used in the collection of its own taxes in conformity with its own legislation and regulations.
Rule 28
Diplomatic agents and consular officers
Nothing in this Convention shall affect the fiscal privileges of diplomatic agents and consular officers under the general rules of international law or under the provisions of special agreements.
Rule 29
Entry into force
1. This Convention shall be ratified and the Contracting States shall notify each other that their legal requirements for the entry into force of this Convention have been fulfilled.
2. The Convention shall enter into force on the date of the later of the notifications referred to in paragraph 1 and its provisions shall have effect:
a) in Albania in respect of income derived or of capital owned on or after the first day of January of the calendar year next following the year in which the Convention enters into force;
(b) in Belgium:
(i) with respect to taxes due at source on income credited or payable on or after January 1 of the year next following the year in which the Convention enters into force;
ii) with respect to other taxes charged on income of taxable periods beginning on or after the first day of January of the year next following the year in which the Convention enters into force; and
iii) with respect to taxes on capital charged on elements of capital existing on or after January 1 of any year following the year in which the Convention enters into force.
For the purposes of Article 26 (Exchange of Information), the provisions of this Article shall have effect on or after the date on which the Convention enters into force.
Rule 30
Termination
This Convention shall remain in force until terminated by a Contracting State. Either Contracting State may terminate the Convention by giving the other Contracting State written notice of termination, through diplomatic channels, at least six months before the end of any calendar year beginning after the expiration of a period of five years from the date of its entry into force. In such event, the Convention shall cease to have effect :
a) in Albania in respect of income derived or of capital owned on or after the first day of January of the calendar year next following that in which the notice of termination is given;
(b) in Belgium:
i) with respect to taxes due at source on income credited or payable on or after the first day of January of the year next following the year in which the notice of termination is given;
ii) with respect to other taxes charged on income of taxable periods beginning on or after the first day of January of the year next following the year in which the notice of termination is given; and
iii) with respect to taxes on capital charged on elements of capital existing on or after January 1 of the calendar year following the year in which the notice of termination is given.
Done in duplicate at Brussels, on the 14^th day of November 2002, in the English language.

Convention between the Republic of Albania and the Kingdom of Belgium to avoid double taxation on income and property taxes and to prevent tax evasion
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
AND
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE BELGIUM ROYAUME
Desirous, for the purpose of developing and promoting their economic relations, to conclude a Convention to avoid double taxation in respect of taxes on income and on capital, and to prevent tax evasion,
The following provisions were agreed:
Article 1^er
PERSONS
This Convention applies to persons who are residents of a Contracting State or both Contracting States.
Article 2
IMPOTS VISES
1. This Convention applies to taxes on income and on property collected on behalf of a Contracting State, its political subdivisions or local authorities, irrespective of the system of perception.
2. The taxes on total income, total property, or income or property, including taxes on earnings from the alienation of movable or real estate property, taxes on the total amount of wages paid by companies, as well as taxes on surplus-values, are considered income and property taxes.
3. Current taxes to which the Convention applies include:
(a) Albania:
(i) tax on the profits of legal persons ("the tax on the profits of juridical persons");
(ii) tax on small industrial or commercial enterprises ("the tax on small business activities");
(iii) the tax of natural persons ("the individual income tax");
(iv) property tax ("the property tax");
(hereinafter referred to as the Albanian tax)
(b) Belgium:
(i) the tax of natural persons;
(ii) corporate tax;
(iii) the tax of legal persons (non-profit legal persons);
(iv) non-resident tax;
(v) the complementary contribution of crisis; including pre-payments, additional cents to such taxes and pre-payments, and additional taxes to the tax of natural persons,
(hereinafter referred to as "Belgian tax").
4. The Convention also applies to taxes of an identical or similar nature that would be established after the date of signature of the Convention and that would be in addition to or replace existing taxes. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall communicate the significant changes to their respective tax laws.
Article 3
GENERAL DEFINITIONS
1. For the purposes of this Convention, unless the context requires a different interpretation:
(a) the term "Albania" means the Republic of Albania and, when used in a geographical sense, it designates the territory of the Republic of Albania, including the territorial waters and airspace above them, as well as any area beyond the territorial seas of the Republic of Albania that, according to its own legislation and in accordance with international law, constitutes an area on which the Republic of Albania may exercise its own rights
(b) the term "Belgium" means the Kingdom of Belgium and, employed in a geographical sense, it refers to the territory of the Kingdom of Belgium, including the territorial sea and the maritime zones and the airspaces on which, in accordance with international law, the Kingdom of Belgium exercises sovereign rights or its jurisdiction;
(c) the terms "a Contracting State" and "the other Contracting State" mean, in the context, Albania or Belgium;
(d) the term "person" includes individuals, societies and other groups of persons;
(e) the term "society" means any legal entity that is considered a legal entity for taxation purposes in the Contracting State of which it is a resident;
(f) the terms "business of a Contracting State" and "business of the other Contracting State" shall, respectively, designate a business operated by a resident of a Contracting State and a business operated by a resident of the other Contracting State;
(g) the term "national" means:
(i) any natural person who has the nationality of a Contracting State;
(ii) any legal person, partnership or association incorporated in accordance with the legislation in force in a Contracting State;
(h) the term "international traffic" means any transport by a ship, aircraft or road or rail vehicle operated by a company of a Contracting State, except where such means of transport are operated only between points in the other Contracting State;
(i) the term "competent authority" means:
(i) with respect to Albania, the Minister of Finance or its authorized representative;
(ii) in respect of Belgium, the Minister of Finance or its authorized representative.
2. For the purposes of this Convention at any time by a Contracting State, any term or expression not defined therein shall, unless the context requires a different interpretation, the meaning assigned to it at that time by that State in respect of the taxes to which the Convention applies, the meaning assigned to that term or expression by the tax law of that State in respect of the meaning assigned to it by the other branches of the law of that State.
Article 4
RESIDENT
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "resident of a Contracting State" means any person who, under the law of that State, is subject to tax in that State, because of his domicile, residence, management seat, place of registration or any other criterion of a similar nature and also applies to that State as well as to all its political subdivisions or local authorities. However, this term does not include persons who are subject to tax in that State only for income from sources located in that State or for the property located therein.
2. When, according to the provisions of paragraph 1^er, a natural person is a resident of the two Contracting States, his situation is settled as follows:
(a) that person is considered to be a resident only of the State where the person has a permanent home; if it has a permanent home in both states, it is considered to be a resident only of the State with which its personal and economic ties are the narrowest (centre of vital interests);
(b) if the State where that person has the centre of its vital interests cannot be determined, or if it does not have a permanent home in any of the States, it is considered to be a resident only of the State where it normally resides;
(c) if the person normally stays in both States or if he or she does not normally stay in any of them, he or she is considered to be a resident only of the State of which he or she is a national;
(d) if the person possesses the nationality of the two States or has no nationality of any of them, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall decide the question by mutual agreement.
3. When, according to the provisions of paragraph 1^era person other than a natural person is a resident of the two Contracting States and is considered to be a resident of the State where his or her effective management seat is located.
Article 5
STABLE FULLING
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "stable establishment" means a fixed business facility through which a company operates all or part of its business.
2. The term "stable establishment" includes:
(a) a steering seat,
(b) a branch,
(c) an office,
(d) a factory,
(e) a workshop, and
(f) a mine, oil or gas well, a career or any other place of extraction of natural resources.
3. The term "stable establishment" also includes:
(a) a construction or assembly site or monitoring activities in the construction or construction site, but only where such work or activities continue in the territory of the country for a period exceeding 9 months within a period of any 12 months, beginning or ending in the calendar year under review, and
(b) the provision of services, including consultancy services, by a company acting through employees or other personnel engaged by the company for that purpose, but only where such activities continue for the same project or a related project in the territory of the country for one or more periods representing a total of more than 9 months within a period of any twelve months beginning or ending in the calendar year under review.
4. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, it is considered that there is no "stable establishment" if:
(a) the use of facilities for the sole purpose of storage or exposure of goods owned by the company;
(b) goods belonging to the enterprise are stored for storage or exposure purposes only;
(c) goods belonging to the enterprise are stored for the sole purpose of processing by another company;
(d) a fixed business facility is used for the sole purpose of purchasing goods or collecting information for the company;
(e) a fixed business facility is used for the sole purpose of carrying out any other preparatory or auxiliary activity for the enterprise;
(f) a fixed business facility shall be used only for the purpose of the cumulative year of activities referred to in subparagraphs (a) to (e), provided that the overall activity of the fixed business facility resulting from this accumulated business shall be preparatory or auxiliary.
5. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 2, where a person other than an agent enjoying an independent status to which paragraph 6 applies, shall act in a Contracting State on behalf of a business of the other Contracting State, that undertaking shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the first State for all the activities that the person carries on for the enterprise if the said person has powers in the first State that he or she normally exercises to enter into contracts on behalf of the undertaking,
6. A business is not considered to have a permanent establishment in a Contracting State solely because it operates in it through a broker, a general commissioner or any other agent with an independent status, provided that such persons act within the ordinary framework of their business. However, where the activities of such an agent are carried out exclusively or almost exclusively on behalf of that business, that agent is not considered an independent agent within the meaning of this paragraph.
7. The fact that a corporation that is a resident of a Contracting State controls or is controlled by a corporation that is a resident of the other Contracting State or that operates therein (either through a permanent establishment or not) is not sufficient in itself to make any of these companies a permanent establishment of the other.
Article 6
REVENUS IMMOBILIERS
1. The income that a resident of a Contracting State derives from real property (including income from farms or forestry) located in the other Contracting State, is taxable in that other State.
2. The term "real property" has the meaning assigned to it by the law of the Contracting State in which the property is located. The term includes, in any case, accessories, dead or alive livestock of farms and forests, the rights to which the provisions of private law apply in respect of land ownership, the usufruct of real property and the rights to variable or fixed payments for the exploitation or concession of the exploitation of mineral deposits, sources and other natural resources. Ships and aircraft are not considered real property.
3. The provisions of paragraph 1^er applies to income derived from direct exploitation or enjoyment, lease or charter, as well as any other form of exploitation of real property.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 3 also apply to income from real property of a business as well as to income from real property used in the exercise of an independent profession.
Article 7
BENEFICES DES ENTREPRISES
1. The profits of an enterprise of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State, unless the enterprise carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment located therein. If the company operates in such a way, the profits of the company are taxable in the other State but only to the extent that they are attributable to that permanent establishment.
2. If a company of a Contracting State:
(a) use of facilities in the other Contracting State for the sole purpose of delivery in that other Contracting State of goods owned by the undertaking, or
(b) shall enter into the other Contracting State a stock of goods belonging to that undertaking for the sole purpose of delivery in that other Contracting State,
then, only the amount of profits actually attributable to such deliveries is taxable in the other Contracting State.
3. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3, where a business of a Contracting State carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment located therein, it shall be charged, in each Contracting State, to that permanent establishment the profits that it could have realized if it had constituted a separate undertaking carrying out identical or similar activities under identical or similar conditions and acting independently.
4. In order to determine the benefits of a permanent establishment, deductions are made of the expenses incurred for the purposes of this permanent establishment, including the executive expenses and general administrative expenses so exposed, either in the State where the permanent establishment is located or elsewhere.
5. If it is customary in a Contracting State to determine the profits attributable to a permanent establishment on the basis of a distribution of the total profits of the enterprise between its various parties, no provision in paragraph 2 shall prevent that Contracting State from determining the taxable profits according to the distribution in use; However, the method of distribution adopted must be such that the result obtained is consistent with the principles contained in this article.
6. No profit is charged to a permanent establishment because it simply purchased goods for the company.
7. For the purposes of the preceding paragraphs, the benefits to be charged to the permanent establishment are determined annually on the same basis, unless there are valid and sufficient grounds to proceed otherwise.
8. Where profits include income elements treated separately in other articles of this Convention, the provisions of these articles are not affected by the provisions of this article.
Article 8
INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT
1. The profits derived from the operation, in international traffic, of ships, aircraft or road or rail vehicles shall be taxable only in the Contracting State where the effective management seat of the enterprise is located.
2. If the effective management seat of a marine navigation company is on board a vessel, that seat shall be considered to be located in the Contracting State where the vessel's port of attachment is located or, if the vessel is not carrying the vessel, in the Contracting State of which the vessel operator is a resident.
3. The provisions of paragraph 1^er also applies to benefits derived from participation in a pool, a joint operation or an international operating organization.
Article 9
ENTREPRISES ASSOCIEES
1. When
(a) a business of a Contracting State directly or indirectly participates in the direction, control or capital of a business of the other Contracting State, or
(b) the same persons directly or indirectly participate in the direction, control or capital of a business of a Contracting State and a business of the other Contracting State,
and that, in both cases, both companies are, in their commercial or financial relations, bound by agreed or imposed conditions, that differ from those that would be agreed between independent companies, the profits that, without these conditions, would have been realized by one of the companies but could not be in fact because of these conditions, may be included in the profits of that undertaking and imposed accordingly.
2. When a Contracting State includes in the profits of a company of that State and therefore imposes on it profits on which a company of the other Contracting State has been imposed in that other State, and that the profits thus included are profits that would have been realized by the enterprise of the first State if the terms agreed between the two enterprises had been those that would have been agreed between independent enterprises, the other State shall make an appropriate adjustment to the amount of the tax that was collected there. To determine this adjustment, the other provisions of this Convention shall be taken into account and, if necessary, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall consult.
Article 10
DIVIDENDS
1. Dividends paid by a corporation that is a resident of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable in that other State.
2. However, such dividends may also be taxed in the Contracting State of which the corporation paying the dividends is a resident, and according to the law of that State, but if the beneficial owner of the dividends is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed:
(a) 5 per cent of the gross amount of dividends if the beneficial owner is a corporation that holds directly at least 25 per cent of the capital of the corporation that pays the dividends;
(b) 15 per cent of the gross amount of dividends in all other cases.
The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall mutually agree on the terms and conditions for the application of these limits.
This subsection does not affect the corporation's taxation of profits that are used to pay dividends.
3. The term "dividends" used in this article refers to income from shares of any kind, or other beneficiary shares with the exception of receivables, as well as other incomes subject to the same tax regime as income from shares by the tax legislation of the State whose debiting society is a resident.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 2 shall not apply where the beneficial owner of the dividends, a resident of a Contracting State, exercises in the other Contracting State whose dividend-paying corporation is a resident, i.e., an industrial or commercial activity through a permanent establishment located therein, or an independent occupation by means of a fixed base located therein, and that the dividend-generating interest is effectively connected to it. In this case, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as applicable, shall apply.
5. Where a corporation that is a resident of a Contracting State derives from the profits or income of the other Contracting State, that other State may not collect any tax on the dividends paid by the corporation, except to the extent that such dividends are paid to a resident of that other State or to the extent that the dividend-generating interest is effectively connected to a permanent establishment or to a fixed base located in that other State, or prelever any
Article 11
INTERETS
1. Interest arising from a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable in that other State.
2. However, these interests are also taxable in the Contracting State in which they arise and according to the law of that State, but if the beneficial owner of the interest is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed 5 per cent of the gross amount of the interest. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall mutually agree on the terms and conditions for the application of this limit.
3. The term "interest" used in this section refers to income from receivables of any kind, whether or not accompanied by mortgage guarantees or an interest clause in the debtor's profits, including income from public funds and borrowing obligations, including premiums and lots attached to these securities. Penalizations for late payment are not considered interest within the meaning of this article.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 2 shall not apply where the beneficial owner of the interest, a resident of a Contracting State, carries on in the other Contracting State in which the interest arises, either an industrial or commercial activity through a permanent establishment located therein or an independent occupation by means of a fixed base located therein, and that the interest-generating debt is effectively connected to it. In this case, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as applicable, shall apply.
5. Interest shall be deemed to arise from a Contracting State where the debtor is a resident of that State. However, where the debtor of interest, whether or not a resident of a Contracting State, has in a Contracting State a permanent establishment, or a fixed base, for which the debt giving rise to the payment of interest has been contracted and which bears the burden of such interests, these shall be deemed to arise from the State where the permanent establishment or fixed base is located.
6. Where, because of special relations between the debtor and the beneficial owner or between the debtor and the other person maintain with third persons, the amount of interest, taking into account the debt for which they are paid, exceeds the amount agreed upon by the debtor and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relations, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the latter amount. In such cases, the surplus portion of the payments shall be taxable in accordance with the laws of each Contracting State and taking into account the other provisions of this Convention.
Article 12
REDEVANCES
1. Royalties from a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable in that other State.
2. However, such royalties are also taxable in the Contracting State in which they arise and according to the law of that State, but if the beneficial owner of the royalties is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed 5 per cent of the gross amount of the royalties. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall mutually agree on the terms and conditions for the application of this limit.
3. The term " royalties" used in this article means the remuneration of any kind paid for the use or concession of the use of a copyright on a literary, artistic or scientific work, including film films and films or tapes registered for radio or television, a patent, a trademark or trade mark, a drawing or a model, a plan, an industrial process or a secret line Compensation paid for assistance or technical services shall not be considered compensation paid for information relating to an industrial, commercial or scientific experience but shall be taxable in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as appropriate.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 2 shall not apply where the beneficial owner of the royalties, a resident of a Contracting State, carries out in the other Contracting State in which the royalties arise, either an industrial or commercial activity through a permanent establishment located therein or an independent occupation by means of a fixed base located therein, and that the right or property generating the royalties is effectively connected to it. In this case, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as applicable, shall apply.
5. The royalties shall be deemed to arise from a Contracting State when the debtor is a resident of that State. However, where the debtor of royalties, whether or not a resident of a Contracting State, has in a Contracting State a permanent establishment, or a fixed base, for which the contract giving rise to the payment of royalties has been concluded and which bears the charge of such royalties, these shall be deemed to be from the State where the permanent establishment, or the fixed base, is located.
6. Where, because of special relations between the debtor and the beneficial owner or between the debtor and the other person maintain with third persons, the amount of royalties, taking into account the benefit for which they are paid, exceeds the amount agreed upon by the debtor and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relations, the provisions of this section apply only to the latter amount. In such cases, the surplus portion of the payments shall be taxable in accordance with the laws of each Contracting State and taking into account the other provisions of this Convention.
Article 13
GAINS EN CAPITAL
1. The gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of real property referred to in Article 6, and situated in the other Contracting State, shall be taxable in that other State.
2. The gains from the alienation of movable property that are part of the assets of a permanent establishment that a business of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State, or of movable property that belong to a fixed base of which a resident of a Contracting State disposes in the other Contracting State for the exercise of an independent profession, including such gains from the alienation of that permanent establishment (ully or with
3. Gains derived from the alienation of ships, aircraft or road or rail vehicles operated in international traffic, or of movable property assigned to the operation of these means of transport, shall be taxable only in the Contracting State where the profits of the undertaking are taxable in accordance with Article 8 of this Convention.
4. Gains derived from the alienation of shares of a corporation whose assets are constituted principally, directly or indirectly, by real property located in a Contracting State are taxable in that State, but only to the extent that these gains relate to real property located in that State.
5. Any gains arising from the alienation of any property other than those referred to in the preceding paragraphs of this article shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the assignor is a resident.
Article 14
INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONS
1. The income derived by a natural person who is a resident of a Contracting State from a liberal profession or other similar activities of an independent character shall be taxable only in that State, except in the following cases, where such income is also taxable in the other Contracting State:
(a) if it has, in the other Contracting State, a fixed basis for the exercise of its activities; in that case, only the fraction of the income attributable to the fixed base is taxable in that other State, or
(b) if the stay in the other Contracting State extends over a period or periods of a total period of 183 days in any period of twelve months beginning or ending in the calendar year in question; in that case, only the fraction of the income derived from the activities carried out in that other State is taxable in that other State.
2. The term "liberal profession" includes independent scientific, literary, artistic, educational or educational activities, as well as independent activities of physicians, dentists, lawyers, engineers, architects and accountants.
Article 15
PROFESSIONS
1. Subject to the provisions of Articles 16, 18, and 19, wages, salaries and other similar remuneration that a resident of a Contracting State receives for an employee employment shall be taxable only in that State, unless employment is exercised in the other Contracting State. If the employment is exercised, the remuneration received as such is taxable in that other State.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1^erthe remuneration of a resident of a Contracting State in respect of an employee employed in the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in the first State if all the following conditions are met:
(a) the beneficiary stays in the other State for a period or periods not exceeding a total of 183 days during any twelve-month period beginning or ending in the calendar year in question;
(b) compensation shall be paid by an employer or on behalf of an employer who is not a resident of the other State, and
(c) the pay charge is not borne by a permanent establishment or a fixed base that the employer has in the other State.
3. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, remuneration for an employee employed on board a ship, aircraft or road or rail vehicle operated in international traffic shall be taxable in the Contracting State in which the profits of the undertaking are taxable in accordance with Article 8 of this Convention.
Article 16
TANTIEMES
1. The fortieth, attendance and other similar remuneration that a resident of a Contracting State receives as a member of the board of directors or of a similar body of a corporation that is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
The foregoing provision also applies to remuneration received because of the performance of functions which, under the legislation of the Contracting State whose company is a resident, are treated as functions of a nature similar to those exercised by a person referred to in that provision.
2. Compensation received by a natural person who is a resident of a Contracting State:
(a) referred to in paragraph 1^era corporation that is a resident of a Contracting State because of the exercise of a day-to-day direction or technical activity, or
(b) associated in a partnership that is a resident of a Contracting State because of the exercise of a daily activity for that partnership,
shall be taxable in accordance with the provisions of Article 15.
Article 17
ARTISTS AND SPORTIFS
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 14 and 15, income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from his or her personal activities in the other Contracting State as an artist of the spectacle, such as a theatre, cinema, radio or television artist, or a musician, or as a sportsman, may be taxed in that other State.
2. Where the income of activities that an entertainer or a sportsperson exercises personally and in this capacity is attributed not to the artist or to the athlete himself but to another person, such income shall be taxable, notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 7, 14 and 15, in the Contracting State where the activities of the artist or athlete are carried out.
Article 18
PENSIONS
Subject to the provisions of Article 19, paragraph 2, pensions and other similar remuneration paid to a resident of a Contracting State for an earlier job shall be taxable only in that State.
Article 19
PUBLIC FUNCTIONS
1. (a) Salaries, salaries and other similar remuneration, other than pensions, paid by a Contracting State or any of its political subdivisions or local authorities to a natural person, for services rendered to that State or subdivision or community, shall be taxable only in that State.
(b) However, such wages, salaries and other similar remuneration shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the services are rendered in that State and if the natural person is a resident of that State who:
(i) has the nationality of that State, or
ii) did not become a resident of that State for the sole purpose of rendering the services.
2. (a) Pensions paid by a Contracting State or any of its political subdivisions or local authorities, either directly or by debiting from funds that they have constituted, to a natural person, for services rendered to that State or to that political subdivision or local authority, shall be taxable only in that State.
(b) However, such pensions shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the natural person is a resident of that other State and has its nationality.
3. The provisions of Articles 15, 16, 17 and 18 apply to remuneration and pensions paid for services rendered in an industrial or commercial activity carried out by a Contracting State or any of its political subdivisions or local authorities.
Rule 20
ETUDIANTS ET STAGIAIRES
Where a student or trainee who is, or who was immediately before going to a Contracting State, a resident of the other Contracting State shall stay in the first State for the sole purpose of continuing his or her studies or training, the amounts that he or she receives to cover his or her maintenance, education or training expenses shall not be taxable in that State, provided that they arise from sources outside that State.
Article 21
OTHER REVENUS
1. The income elements of a resident of a Contracting State, wherever they arise, which are not dealt with in the preceding articles of this Convention shall be taxable only in that State.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1^er shall not apply to income other than income derived from real property as defined in Article 6, paragraph 2, where the beneficiary of such income, resident of a Contracting State, carries on in the other Contracting State, either an industrial or commercial activity through a permanent establishment located therein, or an independent occupation by means of a fixed base located therein, and that the right or property actually connected therein. In this case, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as applicable, shall apply.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 2, elements of income of a resident of a Contracting State that are not dealt with in the preceding articles of this Convention and that come from the other Contracting State shall also be taxable in that other State if such elements are not imposed in the first State.
Article 22
FORTUNE
1. The property constituted by real property referred to in Article 6, which is owned by a resident of a Contracting State and situated in the other Contracting State, is taxable in that other State.
2. The property constituted by movable property that is part of the asset of a permanent establishment that a business of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State, or by movable property that is owned by a fixed base of which a resident of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State for the exercise of an independent profession, is taxable in that other State.
3. Assets made by vessels, aircraft and road or rail vehicles operated in international traffic, as well as by movable assets assigned to the operation of these means of transport, shall be taxable only in the Contracting State where the effective headquarters of the enterprise is located.
4. All other assets of a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State.
Article 23
ELIMINATION OF THE IMPOSITION DOUBLE
Double taxation is eliminated as follows:
1. In Albania:
(a) When a resident of Albania receives income or has property that, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, is taxable in Belgium, Albania grants:
(i) on the Albanian tax collected on the income of that resident, a deduction of an amount equal to the income tax paid in Belgium; and
ii) on the Albanian tax collected on the fortune of that resident, a deduction of an amount equal to the tax on the fortune paid in Belgium.
However, in either case, this deduction may not exceed the fraction of the Albanian tax on income or on fortune, calculated before deduction, which, as the case may be, corresponds to taxable income or fortune in Belgium.
(b) Where, in accordance with any provision of the Convention, the income that a resident of Albania receives or the wealth that he owns is tax-free in Albania, Albania may nevertheless, in calculating the amount of tax on the rest of the income or fortune of that resident, take into account the exempt income or fortune.
2. In Belgium:
(a) When a Belgian resident receives income or owns assets that are taxed in Albania in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, with the exception of those of articles 10, paragraph 2, 11, paragraphs 2 and 6, and 12, paragraphs 2 and 6, Belgium exempts from tax these incomes or assets, but it may, to calculate the amount of its taxes on the rest of the income or fortune of that resident, apply the same rate if
(b) Subject to the provisions of Belgian law relating to the imputation on Belgian tax of taxes paid abroad, where a Belgian resident receives income elements that are included in his overall income subject to Belgian tax and which consist of a Belgian tax-free dividend under (c) below, in interest or royalties, the Albanian tax collected on these revenues is charged on Belgian tax.
(c) The dividends that a corporation that is a resident of Belgium receives from a corporation that is a resident of Albania are exempted from the corporate tax in Belgium, under the conditions and limits provided for in Belgian legislation.
3. For the purposes of paragraph 2 of this Article, the income tax paid in Albania by a resident of Belgium for business profits (Article 7) is deemed to include any amount that should have been paid for Albanian tax, but has not been so much as a result of an exemption, deduction or reduction of tax granted under the Act No. 7677 of 3 March 1993 "From the tax on profits" The provisions of this paragraph shall apply only where such profits from enterprises arise from actual industrial or commercial activities carried out in Albania in the field of manufacture, sale of goods or provision of services and are not derived from financial services, unless the competent authorities admit that all revenue-generating activities promote economic development in Albania. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply only for the first five years from the effective date of this Convention. This period may be extended by mutual agreement by the competent authorities.
Article 24
NON-DISCRIMINATION
1. Nationals of a Contracting State shall not be subject in the other Contracting State to any taxation or obligation relating thereto, which is heavier than those to which the nationals of that other Contracting State are or may be subject to the same situation, particularly in respect of the residence. This provision also applies, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1, to persons who are not residents of a Contracting State or both Contracting States.
2. The imposition of a permanent establishment that a business of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State is not established in that other State in a less favourable manner than the taxation of the enterprises of that other State that exercise the same activity. This provision shall not be construed as requiring a Contracting State to grant personal deductions, deductions and tax reductions to the residents of the other Contracting State on the basis of the situation or family expenses that it grants to its own residents.
3. Unless the provisions of Article 9, paragraph 1^er, Article 11, paragraph 6 or Article 12, paragraph 6, shall not apply, any interest, royalties and other expenses paid by a business of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be deductible, for the determination of the taxable profits of that undertaking, under the same conditions as if they had been paid to a resident of the first State. Similarly, the debts of an enterprise of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be deductible, for the determination of the taxable fortune of that undertaking, on the same basis as if they had been contracted to a resident of the first Contracting State.
4. The undertakings of a Contracting State, whose capital is wholly or partly, directly or indirectly, held or controlled by one or more residents of the other Contracting State, shall not be subject in the first State to any taxation or related obligation, which is heavier than those to which other similar enterprises of the first State are or may be subject.
5. The provisions of this section shall apply, notwithstanding the provisions of section 2, to taxes of any kind or denomination. However, this subsection does not apply to taxes that pay services rendered and other similar payments.
Rule 25
AMIABLE PROCEDURE
1. Where a person considers that the measures taken by a Contracting State or by the two Contracting States shall result in or result in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, the person may, independently of the remedies provided by the domestic law of those States, submit his case to the competent authority of the Contracting State of which the person is a resident or, if the case falls under Article 24, paragraph 1^erto that of the Contracting State of which it has nationality. The case shall be submitted within three years after the first notification of the measure that results in taxation not in conformity with the provisions of the Convention.
2. The competent authority shall endeavour, if the request appears to it to be founded and if it is not itself able to make a satisfactory solution to it, to resolve the case by amicable agreement with the competent authority of the other Contracting State, with a view to avoiding taxation not in conformity with the Convention. The agreement shall be applied irrespective of the time limits provided by the domestic law of the Contracting States.
3. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavour, by mutual agreement, to resolve the difficulties or to dispel the doubts to which the interpretation or application of the Convention may take place.
4. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall agree on the administrative measures necessary for the implementation of the provisions of the Convention and in particular on the justifications to be provided by the residents of each Contracting State to benefit in the other State from the exemptions or tax reductions provided for in this Convention.
5. The competent authorities of the Contracting States may communicate directly with each other in order to reach an agreement as indicated in the preceding paragraphs.
Rule 26
ECHANGE OF INFORMATION
1. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange the information necessary to apply the provisions of this Convention or those of the domestic legislation of the Contracting States relating to the taxes covered by the Convention to the extent that the taxation it provides is not contrary to the Convention. The exchange of information is not restricted by section 1^er. The information received by a Contracting State shall be kept secret in the same manner as the information obtained under the domestic legislation of that State and shall only be communicated to the persons or authorities (including the courts and administrative bodies) concerned by the establishment or collection of the taxes referred to in the Convention, by the procedures or prosecutions relating to such taxes, or by the decisions on remedies relating to such taxes. These individuals or authorities only use this information for these purposes. They may report this information at public court hearings or in judgments.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1^er in no case may be construed as imposing on a Contracting State the obligation:
(a) take administrative measures derogating from its legislation, administrative practice or those of the other Contracting State;
(b) provide information that could not be obtained on the basis of its legislation or in the course of its normal administrative practice or those of the other Contracting State;
(c) provide information that would reveal a commercial, industrial, professional or commercial secret or information that would be contrary to public order.
3. For the purposes of this Article, the Convention shall apply, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 2 (Applicable Taxes), to taxes of any kind collected by a Contracting State.
Rule 27
ASSISTANCE TO RECOVER
1. The Contracting States undertake to lend each other assistance and assistance in order to notify and recover the taxes referred to in Article 2 as well as any additional, increments, interests, fees and fines relating to these taxes.
2. Upon request by the competent authority of a Contracting State, the competent authority of the other Contracting State shall, in accordance with the legal and regulatory provisions applicable to the notification and recovery of such taxes of the Contracting State, notify and recover the taxes referred to in paragraph 1^er, which are due in the first State. These claims have no priority or privilege in the requested State.
3. The requests referred to in paragraph 2 shall be supported by an official copy of the enforceable titles, accompanied, if purchased, by an official copy of the administrative or judicial decisions passed in force of the evidence.
4. With regard to claims that are subject to appeal, the competent authority of a Contracting State may, in order to safeguard its rights, request the competent authority of the other Contracting State to take the precautionary measures provided for in the legislation of the other Contracting State. The provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 3 are applicable, mutatis mutandis, to these measures.
5. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 2, the provisions of this Article shall apply to all taxes collected by or on behalf of a Contracting State.
6. The provisions of Article 26, paragraph 1^er, shall also apply to any information brought under this Article to the knowledge of the competent authority of a Contracting State.
7. The provisions of this Article shall not be construed as imposing on either Contracting State the obligation to take administrative measures or to apply means of execution of a different nature than those to which it uses for the recovery of its own taxes in accordance with its own laws and regulations.
Rule 28
CONSULAR DIPLOMATIC AND FUNCTIONAL AGENTS
The provisions of this Convention shall not affect the tax privileges enjoyed by diplomatic agents and consular officials under either the general rules of international law or the provisions of special agreements.
Rule 29
BACKGROUND
1. This Convention shall be ratified and Contracting States shall notify the fulfilment of the procedures required by their legislation for the entry into force of this Convention.
2. The Convention shall enter into force on the date of the second notification referred to in paragraph 1^er and its provisions shall apply:
(a) in Albania, the income collected or the wealth owned from the first January of the calendar year immediately following that of the entry into force of the Convention;
(b) Belgium:
(i) taxes due to the source on the income awarded or paid from 1^er January of the year immediately following that of the entry into force of the Convention;
(ii) other taxes on taxable period income beginning on or after January 1 of the year immediately following that of the entry into force of the Convention; and
(iii) the tax on fortune established on assets existing from 1^er January of any year after that of the entry into force of the Convention.
For the purposes of Article 26 (change of information), the provisions will apply from the date of entry into force of the Convention.
Rule 30
DENONCIATION
This Convention shall remain in force until it has been denounced by a Contracting State. Each Contracting State may, at least six months before the end of any calendar year beginning after the expiration of a five-year period from the date of the entry into force of the Convention, denounce it, in writing and through diplomatic channels. In such cases, the Convention shall cease to apply:
(a) in Albania, the income collected or the wealth owned from the first January of the calendar year immediately following the denunciation;
(b) Belgium:
(i) the tax due to the source on the income awarded or paid as from the first January of the year immediately following that of the denunciation;
(ii) other taxes on taxable period income beginning on or after January 1 of the year immediately following that of the denunciation; and
(iii) the tax on fortune established on assets existing from the first January of the calendar year following that of denunciation.
Done in Brussels on 14 November 2002, in duplicate, in the English language.